Brazilian Music to The Man From U.N.C.L.E

In the film The Man From UNCLE, Henry Cavill is Napoleon Solo, a secret agent who has to work in partnership with Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hamer), an agent of the KGB, to end mass destruction plans.

The music that we hear especially during the first official movie trailer is a composition of the Brazilian musician Tom Zé. “Jimmy Surrender” was recorded in 1970 by the musician born in Bahia, who was a fan of the American series displayed in the 60’s on American TV.

The film, which will debut in Brazil on 03 September, was inspired by this series and Tom Zé proved to be surprised by the news of the inclusion of their music as part of the official soundtrack.

Antônio José Santana Martins, Tom Zé, was an active participant in the cultural movement Tropicalia, (Brazilian musical movement of the 60s that featured names like Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Maria Bethany, Os Mutantes, etc.) . From the 80s he started making international success and in 1998 released the album “With Defect Production”, which was chosen by The New York Times as one of the ten best albums of that year.

Talking about “Jimmy Surrender”, in an interview with DMP (Dagomir Marquezi Productions), Tom Ze states that “this song had a route full of setback. I was with some doubts, I wanted another way to record, but left as It was. The recording was being played here and there and has been covered in several countries. ”

Another curiosity that was told in the interview is that they asked the Tom Zé is the beginning of the song (with a guitar intro reminiscent of the James Bond films) was purposeful. Tom Zé said he really did not expect the success of the fun and unpretentious song, “No, I had an inspiration … Now, what each person imagines hearing, it is impossible to know I thought it was a little weak theme.”.

We would like to know if Henry, the film’s director Guy Ritchie, and the rest of the cast liked Brazilian “batucada”?

Daniel and studio with the movie folder.

In September last year other songs of the sound track of the film began to be prepared by the composer Daniel Pemberton (who worked with Ridley Scott on the trail of The Counselor), at Abbey Road Studios in London (YES!… The studios that consecrated the Beatles!).

Let’s wait to check out the full album and the film’s release … (please September arrives soon!).

Meanwhile check the lyrics of “Jimmy Surrender,” which alludes to the Rock legends Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and Bill Halley (Bill Haley & His Comets and the song “Rock Around the Clock”, the prehistory of the Rock!)